


The woes of a manservant

by reading_fanfics_at_200am_hbu



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur is obvlivious, Because lancelot thats why, Between seasons 3 and 4, Caring Gaius, Coughing, Even though uther is still alive, Gen, Headaches & Migraines, I don't like uther, King Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin needs to take care of himself, Minor Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Sick Merlin (Merlin), Sickfic, Sneezing, because who doesn't love Merlin torture, he will be in this fic, merthur if you squint
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:41:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25775290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reading_fanfics_at_200am_hbu/pseuds/reading_fanfics_at_200am_hbu
Summary: In which Merlin is ill, he has to deal with Arthur being an ass, and Gaius is concerned. So is Gwen. And Lancelot. And basically all of the knights of the round table because it's /Merlin/ and he's their smol
Relationships: Gaius & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 115





	1. Just a Tickle

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I'm writing another sickfic. Yes I know I have WIP's. Sorry fam, inspiration struck and also I've run out of good sick!merlin fics to read so here we are. If there any any grammar mistakes PLEASE pm me because I don't have a beta reader. Enjoy my friends!

“Merlin,  _ what _ are you doing?”

“I’m… tending to the fire, sire.”

“Oh  _ really _ ? For ten minutes?”

“...yes?” Arthur raised an eyebrow at his servant, clearly not convinced.

“Are you  _ trying _ to drive me insane?” Merlin chuckled.

“You seem to be doing a good enough job of that yourself. Besides, I haven’t got as much extra padding.” The young warlock had to duck when a nearby comb was launched in his direction.

“Oh, so now we’re throwing things. Glad to see you’re handling the responsibilities of being king  _ so well _ .”

“Merlin,” the said king warned, “one more word and I’ll have you in the stocks! I’m trying to concentrate, so could you just do what you need to do and get out?” Merlin grinned and stood up, using the wall to help keep balance. He coughed into his hand, then approached his master’s desk.

“What are you working on, sire?” He asked, sarcasm dripping from his words.

“That is none of  _ your _ concern.” Merlin rolled his eyes and leaned against the bedpost.

“WIll that be all?”

“No! Have you any intelligence Merlin?” The young warlock blinked and grinned.

“Yes, but I prefer not to waste it on you.”

“You have a lot of nerve. You’re lucky I have better things to do.”

“Yes sire,  _ very _ lucky.” Arthur looked up at his manservant then, thinking.

“Alright, I need you to polish my armor, take the dogs inside, and shine my boots for the meeting tomorrow. Do you think you can manage to remember all that,  _ Mer _ lin?” The young warlock sniffed and smiled, a shit-eating grin that got on Arthur’s nerves, yet was strangely comforting.

“I believe it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“I never know with you.”

And so Merlin left the room, taking  _ great _ care to shut the door harder that he probably should have. The irritated yell from inside the king’s chambers made Merlin laugh as he yelled back, “Sorry my lord!” His voice happened to crack on the last word and he had to cough a few times to clear away the tickling sensation this wrought.

Walking down the hall, he was silent. There was a draft in the castle that night, and with a shudder the young man pulled his jacket tighter around his torso. When he rounded the corner, he arrived at his first destination: The armory. He entered the room and made his way to where he knew Arthur’s armor should be, but alas; it wasn’t there. Merlin was confused, but then remembered that he brought the armor into his chambers the night before and hadn’t had a chance to put it back. 

Deciding to polish the armor once he got back home, he trudged out to where the dogs were kept. They were barking like mad, as they didn’t really like Merlin all that much. With trepidation, the young sorcerer opened the gate leading to the indoor shelter where the dogs stayed at night. All at once, one of the larger dogs bounded through the open gate and made a beeline for Merlin. Using much of his strength, he recited a small incantation and the dog bounced back, whimpering slightly.

“Oh shut up, the only thing that’s injured is your ego.” Once Merlin made sure that all the dogs were safe inside the enclosure, he began to make the long journey back to his chambers. He stopped to pick up Arthur’s boots on the way.

The young warlock was at the foot of the stairs leading to the physician’s chambers when he again felt a tickle at the back of his throat. Try as he might, he couldn’t seem to get it to go away, so he resigned to coughing gently every few seconds until he could get some water. Finally at the top of the stairs, Merlin decided to rest for a moment before heading inside. He let himself cough loudly a couple of times, sighing in relief when that seemed to rid himself of the tickle.

Pushing open the door, Merlin surveyed the room. Gaius was in the corner reading some book intently. The place was cluttered as usual, and the servant took a deep breath.  _ Home _ . Unfortunately, taking a deep breath seemed to reawaken the tickle in his throat, and he coughed into his fist while shakily pouring himself some water.

“Merlin?” Gaius said, startled out of his concentration by the sound of light coughing, “Are you alright?”

“Oh, yeah,” responded Merlin, “Something got stuck in my throat. I’m fine.” Gaius nodded his head and placed the book down on the table in front of him.

“How was your day?”

“Arthur’s being a prat, as usual. He wants me to polish his armor  _ and _ shine his boots tonight. I did that yesterday! I swear, he just wants me busy because  _ he’s _ busy.” Merlin rolled his eyes in frustration, and Gaius smirked.

“Well, you  _ are _ his manservant. That’s your job.” The young warlock scoffed and sat down at the table.

“Can I have something to eat?”

“Of course. There’s an apple on the counter over there.” Merlin stood to grab said apple, and he felt a rush of light-headedness come over him. He gripped the table to try and keep his balance, but did so inconspicuously, not wanting Gaius to worry. Luckily, the sensation quickly faded and he was left with a slight headache but nothing more.

“You’re very quiet tonight. Is something on your mind?” asked the physician, startling Merlin.

“No. I’m just tired. Not quite anticipating needing to stay up much later.” Gaius nodded once more and sat across from where his ward had sat.

“You know Merlin, it’s a wonder how you keep up with everything on your shoulders.” Merlin shrugged and bit into the apple, frowning when it caught a bit in his throat. He coughed to clear his throat and Gaius tilted his head but said nothing. They sat in silence, Merlin occasionally taking bites of the apple. Eventually, said apple was finished, and with a quiet, “Goodnight Gaius,” Merlin retreated to his room.

Merlin sat heavily on his bed, holding Arthur’s armor in one hand and the armor polish in the other. He considered doing it by hand, but instead muttered an incantation and let magic do the work for him. Sitting back in his bed, the young warlock closed his eyes and massaged his increasingly aching skull. After a while, he let his hand drop to cover his mouth as he coughed again. This time, he could feel the beginning of a pain in his throat and he winced.

Gaius was leaning back in his bed when he heard Merlin cough in his room. When he heard the wince that came afterwards, the physician felt concern rising inside him. He had been observing his ward for the past few days and had noticed that the young man was coughing more often than normal, but thought that perhaps it was just the change in the air. Then the coughing came again, and Gaius stood. He walked over to the pitcher of water and poured some into a cup to bring to Merlin. The warlock was still coughing when Gaius opened the door.

“Here Merlin, I thought you might want some water. You can’t seem to catch your breath.” Merlin nodded and took the cup gratefully, choking the water down in the hopes of stifling the uncontrollable coughing.

“Thanks Gaius. Sorry for disturbing you.” The young man leaned back and subconsciously rubbed his temples.

“Don’t worry about it. Is your head bothering you?” Merlin nodded slightly but didn’t speak, as his throat now felt worse after the coughing fit. “I have something to help with that. Just let me…” The physician left the room briefly to locate the potion he was thinking of and returned to Merlin’s chambers once he had found it.

“Thank you.” Merlin said again after taking the potion. Gaius paused before leaving.

“Are you feeling alright? You seem pale.”

“I’m alright. Just my head.” Gaius made a noise of assent and turned to leave the room. He felt concern come again when his ward coughed forcefully into his wrist and took another sip of the water. The older man shut the door quietly and laid back down in his bed, trying to sleep despite his growing worry for the young sorcerer.


	2. Day Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess to all the like... three people who enjoyed this fic so far, here's another chapter!
> 
> Aka I cannot sleep so here is more sick!merlin. Also shoutout to 0077 requesting the caring!lancelot. I will gift a fic to you, but for now here st a single interaction.

When Merlin woke the next morning, his immediate thought was,  _ ow _ . His head pounded worse than before, and the discomfort in his throat had turned into an awful pain. He coughed a bit after swallowing some water, and this time it made something shift in his chest and he coughed even harder. After a few moments, he managed to get his throat under control. Knowing that he would not fall back asleep, the young warlock stood slowly to get dressed and grabbed the armor and boots to take to Arthur. Upon taking the short number of steps down to the main room, Merlin stumbled and dropped one of the pieces of armor, startling Gaius out of his slumber.

“Merlin?” muttered the physician, “What are you doing up?”

“I have to help Arthur prepare for a council meeting.” Merlin responded, “Go back to sleep. It’s early.” He ended his sentence with a quick cough into his shoulder, wincing when the cough upset his throat. Gaius sat up fully upon hearing his ward in pain.

“Wait,” the physician stood and walked to the young man, “You’re unwell.” It was not a question.

“No, Gaius. It’s just the change in seasons.” Merlin knew this was a lie, but it was an important day for his master and he wasn’t going to skive off just because he had a cold. Gaius raised an eyebrow, not fully convinced but knowing that nothing he said would make the warlock stay home.

“Whatever you say, but tell me if anything gets any worse and I can give you something.” Merlin nodded and coughed again, Gaius frowning at the sound. “That sounds worse than yesterday.”

“Gaius, I’m  _ fine _ . I need to go to work.” Merlin hastily left after that, but not before grabbing another potion for his headache and picking up the stray piece of armor that had fallen. It was true that he wasn’t feeling his best, but Arthur needed him, and this wasn’t the first time he had been sick on the job. 

Making his way to Arthur’s chambers wasn’t the easy thing it usually was. For one, Merlin’s throat would continually catch on his breath and he would need to stop and cough into his shoulder. Besides that, his nose had started to drip annoyingly. Merlin wiped the offending nose with his sleeve, knowing that if Gaius were nearby he would have probably been yelled at for his unsanitary practices.

Finally, Merlin arrived at the king’s chambers. He gently set the armor down at the table and then roughly opened the curtains, hissing at the assault of light but quickly pushing the pain down.

“Rise and shine sire!” Merlin knew his usually bright demeanor was dimmed somewhat, but Arthur didn’t seem to notice as he groaned and put a pillow over his head.

“Are you  _ ever _ going to stop saying that?” the king mumbled, annoyed yet pleased.

“Nope! Now get up. I have to prepare you for the meeting.” Arthur groaned once more but sat up. Merlin did a double take when he saw how absolutely  _ ridiculous  _ Arthur’s hair looked. The king noticed his servant staring at him and rolled his eyes.

“Merlin,  _ what  _ are you looking at? And why are you smiling?” Merlin couldn’t take it anymore and he burst out laughing, trudging to the corner of the room where Arthur had thrown the comb the night before.

“Sire, we really need to address your bedhead problem.” Merlin was still laughing when he felt his breath start to wheeze and he coughed roughly into his sleeve. When he bent down to pick up the comb, he found that it really didn’t help the situation that much. He started coughing harder, and it was a while before he got his breath back. He straightened up to see Arthur staring at him.

“Merlin, I swear, every day you seem to be getting more and more out of shape.” The young warlock stared at his king, irritated but amused.

“As do you, sire.” Arthur scoffed in indignation before standing.

“Well, come on. We haven’t got all day. I have to get dressed.”

So Merlin helped him get dressed. As Arthur removed his clothes, the black-haired man leaned against the wall to help conserve his strength. His nose was itching again and he had barely enough time to turn away before he sneezed into his elbow, wincing as pain shot through his head.  _ Sinus headache. Great. _

“I’m waiting.” Merlin’s eyes jerked to Arthur and saw the blond bent over at the waist, clearly waiting for his undershirt to be put on. Merlin sighed, coughed a bit, and slipped the shirt over Arthur’s head. He went on to dress his master, only pausing to cough and sniff every few minutes or so.

“Alright, that should do it sire!” Merlin stepped back to admire his handiwork and found himself quite dizzy. His hand rested on the table beside them as he attempted to keep his balance. The pressure in his head peaked, and the young warlock pressed a hand to the ache.

“Merlin?” asked Arthur. The sound of Arthur’s voice made Merlin cringe, and Arthur lowered the volume a bit the next time he spoke.

“Headache?” Merlin nodded.

“I just had some trouble sleeping, sire.” Arthur rolled his eyes and walked away.

“Well I’m sorry that your delicate sensibilities are catching up with you, but I need you to attend the meeting with me. It’s going to be a rather long one, and if I have to sit through it then so do you.” The king paused to look at Merlin. “So you should probably take something from Gaius to help you stay on your toes.”

“Thanks, sire.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ll meet you in one hour. Until then try not to get into trouble.” Merlin smiled and left the room, making sure he waited until the door was shut before coughing harshly into his fist. 

“Merlin?” A voice startled the young warlock, and he turned his head to see who it was.

“Lancelot!"

"Morning Merlin! I'm just stopping by to grab Arthur so we can get ready. Is he in there?"

"Yes, but I'll warn you; he hasn't had his breakfast yet." Merlin grinned and Lancelot laughed, but his laughter subsided when the servant coughed into his arm earnestly.

"You don't sound too good Merlin. Are you catching a cold?" The young warlock shrugged and quickly wiped his nose with his sleeve.

"It's alright. It's just the change in season, that's all."

"I don't believe you." Merlin sighed. Of course the Lancelot didn't believe him.

"Seriously, I'm fine. It's just a cough. If it's anything worse, Gaius will know." The young sorcerer wiggled his eyebrows, "But if not, I'm sure I could think of some other way to fix it." The knight smiled, knowing full well what his friend was talking about.

"Be that as it may, I could probably convince Arthur to let you off the hook for the meeting."

"No, I can attend. I'll just find… a spell or something, to suppress the coughs. Shouldn't be too hard." As if on cue, Merlin started coughing again, and Lancelot patted his back in a half-joking manner.

"Just don't let this turn into something else. We don't need a dying warlock on our hands." Merlin chuckled slightly, not wanting to upset his throat or head.

"I'll see you later then!"

"See you later Merlin!" Just before Merlin was out of earshot, Lancelot shouted, "And have Gaius check you out before you come!"


	3. The Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for a longer chapter! I hope none of you mind that I'm not focusing as much on like sneezy/sniffly Merlin bc that's incredibly difficult for me to right. Enjoy!

Merlin trudged into Gaius’s chambers, his head hurting too much to even try to be quiet. Of course, this meant that Gaius immediately heard him come in.

“What are you doing back so early? I thought you had a meeting to attend?”

“I do. Do you have anything stronger for my headache?” Gaius’s brow furrowed in concern.

“You still have it? I would think it should feel better after a good night’s rest.” Merlin shrugged and sat at one of the counters. Knowing that he probably shouldn’t keep wiping his nose with his sleeve, he grabbed a clean handkerchief off of the counter and blew into it, thoroughly annoyed when the action made him cough again. When Gaius returned with the medicine for the headache, his look of mild concern was amplified. He sat across from his ward and slid the bottle towards him.

“Are you  _ absolutely _ certain that you aren’t ill?”

“No, I just -”

“ _ Merlin. _ ”

“Alright, maybe a bit. I’ll probably feel better tomorrow.” Gaius sighed and reached across the table to put a hand on Merlin’s forehead.

“Hm. You seem a little warm.”

“That’s because I’m alive, Gaius.”

“You know what I mean.” Merlin tried to sigh in defeat, but instead he started coughing again. Gaius looked at the young warlock over his glasses, but Merlin didn’t acknowledge the physician’s gaze. Once the fit ended, Merlin grabbed the bottle of medicine, uncorked it, and downed it. Gaius stood up.

“Turn around Merlin. I need to check your lungs.” Merlin rolled his eyes but did as he was told, sneezing half-heartedly once he had done so. Gaius winced in sympathy when the young man squeezed his eyes shut in obvious pain. The physician bent down to listen to Merlin’s lungs, and smiled when he straightened back up.

“I don’t hear anything that would be cause for alarm. It appears you just have a cold, nothing more. But you should take it easy.” Merlin shook his head vehemently.

“Gaius, it’s just a cold. It’s not the first time I’ve had one here and it definitely won’t be the last. If I start running a fever -” Gaius looked as though he was about to interject, “- a  _ high _ fever, then we can talk about me staying home. But I’m alright, really.” He ended this statement with a cough into his arm, wincing a bit but not in as much pain now that the medicine was kicking in. “Thanks for the potion, it really helped my headache.” Gaius smiled a bit and patted his ward on the shoulder.

“I’m glad. Do you want anything for that cough? It sounds painful.” Merlin grinned but shook his head, obviously pleased that Gaius cared enough to ask.

“No. Save it for someone who really needs it. I’ll be alright.”

“Let me know if that changes.” Merlin nodded and went to stand, but found himself dizzy once more. He grabbed onto the counter, hoping Gaius wouldn’t notice, but this time he did. The physician said nothing, but handed a glass of water to the other man.

“You need to drink plenty of water. You don’t want to get dehydrated.” Merlin nodded again and gratefully took the glass of water, drinking it all in one go. He coughed again after setting the cup down, and this time he turned away from his caretaker, not wanting him to catch the cold.

“You better get going,” Gaius said, realizing how long they’d taken.

“Yeah, I should.” Merlin made his way to the door, pausing to cough roughly into his wrist. He wasn’t facing Gaius, so he didn’t see the worry written all over the older man’s face. Just as well.

Arthur was sitting on his throne, waiting for the rest of the knights to arrive so that they could start the meeting. He was startled out of his stupor by a sneeze, followed by a few harsh coughs. His eyes swept the room before the source of the disturbance was located: Merlin. The king surveyed his manservant who hadn’t seemed to notice Arthur’s gaze. The young man’s nose was red, and he seemed to be breathing quicker than usual. Arthur rolled his eyes.  _ So  _ that's _ why he kept coughing earlier _ . He felt marginally bad for making fun of the sick man earlier, but the feeling quickly faded as Gwaine, Elyan, and Percival entered the room. Leon was already there, and Lancelot had arrived shortly after Merlin. A few minutes later, Lord Agravaine stepped into the room.

“You’re late, uncle.”

“Yes, yes, sorry. I was delayed by a disturbance in the South corridor. Shall we get started?” Arthur nodded and Sir Leon began reporting some incidents that had occured near Camelot’s Western borders.

Melin was frustrated. It had been an hour since the meeting started, and his legs were starting to feel sore from standing so long. Not to mention the spell he had cast earlier to help suppress his urge to cough was fading, and more and more he found himself needing to stifle a cough into his hand. The young warlock could feel the others’ eyes on him whenever this happened, but he ignored them. He didn’t like so much attention focused on his well being.

“Merlin,” whispered Lancelot, “You don’t sound too good.” Merlin shrugged and coughed again. He winced as his abs contracted, and Lancelot made a face of concern.

“I’m alright.” Merlin whispered back, glad he didn’t have to speak any louder and upset his throat further. The knight wasn’t convinced, but he turned away from Merlin to focus on what Elyan was now reporting. The young warlock took this opportunity to move back to Arthur’s side. Thankfully his nose had stopped running, but the pressure in his sinuses remained. He was glad Gaius’s potion had been effective in dulling the pain, or else he would have been in a great deal of it.

“The people in the lower towns have been complaining of a rapidly spreading contagion. They complain of -” Merlin coughed quietly into his sleeve, but the sound must have amplified, because Elyan paused in his narrative, “They complain of nausea, fever, and an awful… and awful headache… Merlin?” All heads turned to the servant as he coughed forcefully into his arm, no longer trying to hide it. As the fit continued, the coughs seemed to rack his body more and more.

“Merlin, you’re disrupting the meeting,” Arthur stated, showing his concern in the only way he knew how: insults. “You better have a good explanation for why you’re here and not back in your chambers.” Merlin smirked but wasn’t able to talk yet; the coughs just kept coming, He felt a shiver move up his spine and the sudden realization that his fever had risen came to his mind.  _ That would explain why my body aches _ .

“I’m fine, my lord. Something got caught in my throat.” Arthur stared dubiously at his servant, not missing when the tremor moved up his body.

“Nevertheless, you’re dismissed. Go home.” Merlin tried to say that he was fine, that he could stay, but Arthur interrupted him. “We can’t get anything done if all we hear is you  _ coughing _ .” Merlin flushed in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, sire.”

“No need. Get some rest.”

Merlin didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly stumbled out of the room, not missing the knights’ looks of concern. As soon as he shut the door, he let himself fall into a coughing fit once more. The spell he had cast to suppress his cough had only seemed to make matters worse, as now, instead of the dry coughs he’d been experiencing, he could feel congestion deep within his lungs as he coughed.

“Are you alright?” The sorcerer heard the soft voice of Gwen and looked down the hall. Gwen was walking up the corridor when she heard the sound of coughing come from down the hall. When Merlin came into view, her mild curiosity turned to worry as she watched his slender frame convulse with each cough.

“I’ll be alright Gwen. It’s just a cough.”

“Sounds like a pretty nasty one.” She placed a hand on Merlin’s arm and cringed when she felt the warmth underneath. “You’ve got a fever?”

“Yeah, I suppose so. It’s not that bad.” Gwen tilted her head questioningly, but straightened when Merlin’s breathing hitched.

“Merlin?” He raised a hand to tell her to wait, and then he turned and sneezed into the crook of his elbow.

“Sorry Gwen, I didn’t mean to -”

“Don’t worry about it Merlin.” She strengthened her grip on his arm when he swayed a bit. “Here, let me accompany you home. I don’t want you to fall.”

“That’s very kind, Gwen. Thank you.” The young maid rested her hand on his back as they walked, frowning at the heat radiating off of the young warlock. A couple times she had to keep him upright as he coughed forcefully in the other direction. Each time, he tried to distance himself from his friend, but each time she only tightened her hold, as his balance was unsteady at best and nonexistent at worse.

“I can’t  _ believe _ you were going to try and stand throughout that whole meeting! It was going to be at least a couple more hours before you could get out of there. You wouldn’t have lasted that long.” Merlin only nodded, too tired at this point to say anything. They kept walking, and after a while, they arrived at the physicians door. Gwen let Merlin lean against the wall as she pushed the door open, then she helped him cross the threshold and enter the room. Unfortunately, there was no physician in sight.

“Come on, just sit down. I’m sure Gaius will be back soon,” prompted Gwen, and Merlin sat heavily on one of the benches.

“Thanks for… for helping me get back.” said Merlin hoarsely. Speaking made him cough again, and Gwen rubbed his back sympathetically.

“It’s no problem. Were you feeling this badly when you woke?” The young sorcerer shook his head, eyes closed.

“No, I felt ill but not too bad. The fever started coming during the meeting.” He paused. “Could you get me some- some water from the pitcher over there?”

“Of course.” Gwen said brightly, glad to do something to help. As she poured the water she heard Merlin coughing harshly behind her, and her brow furrowed at the sound. She turned swiftly and set the cup down beside him.

“Just breathe Merlin. Just breathe.”

“I’m try-trying,” he said, between coughs.

Just then, the door to the room opened and Gaius stepped through. Upon seeing his ward struggling to breathe, the physician hastily set down the basket of herbs he was carrying and rushed to Merlin’s side.

“Merlin!” he gasped, taking Gwen’s place at Merlin’s side.

“He was coughing in the meeting, so Arthur sent him out to go back to his chambers, but he was having a hard time keeping his balance. I helped him here. He just can’t stop coughing, Gaius.” The physician placed a hand on Merlin’s forehead for the second time that day and made a soft noise when he felt how much warmer he was.

“Your fever has gotten worse, my boy.” Merlin nodded.

“I know.”

“ Has your headache returned?”

“Not too badly. Your medicine helped.” Merlin (naturally) coughed again, and Gaius was taken aback at how much worse he sounded.

“Thank you for helping him, Gwen. You can go now if you have things to do.” Gwen nodded, then looked to Merlin.

“I hope you feel better, Merlin. I’ll check on you later, alright?”

“Alright.”

Gwen left the room quietly, and Gaius turned back to his ward.

“Merlin, did you use any kind of enchantment on yourself?” Merlin, sensing Gaius’s tone of warning, shrugged noncommittally, and Gaius raised an eyebrow.

“I used a small spell to help suppress the cough, but that’s all, I swear!” Gaius made a noise of frustration and stood to look for the potion he needed.

“Merlin, how many times have I warned you about using those types of spells on yourself! It’s very dangerous without a physician’s approval, and even then, it’s extremely unwise to use it on oneself!” Merlin was taken aback by Gaius’s apparent anger, and upon seeing this, the physician lowers his tone. “I’m not angry with you Merlin; I merely fear that in casting such an enchantment you’ve worsened your condition.” Merlin swallowed nervously, wincing when this aggravated his throat. He remembered the cup of water Gwen had gotten for him and sipped some of it.

“You’re probably right. The cough wasn’t this bad before the spell.” Gaius nodded and bent down to listen to Merlin’s lungs, frowning slightly when he straightened up.

“You sound congested. Take this potion,” he handed said potion to his ward, “It should help rid you of some of the congestion.” Merlin swallowed the potion, making a face at the bitter taste.

“That is  _ disgusting _ .” Gaius smiled fondly at his ward and placed a hand on his head affectionately.

“I know, but hopefully it will make you feel better in time. Now why don’t you go lay down. If Arthur comes looking I’ll tell him you are unwell.” It was a sign of how bad the young warlock felt that he did not argue, but instead went to stand and go to his room. Merlin found that his balance was still off, and he felt himself leaning precariously to the left before a hand steadied him.

“Easy Merlin, easy.” Gaius led the ailling boy to his chambers, pausing when Merlin began to cough gratingly into his fist. Like with Gwen, he tried to separate himself from the physician to spare him the misfortune of catching his illness, but Gaius continued to hold him up. “Save your strength Merlin, I may be old but I’m in surprisingly good health.” Merlin huffed out a laugh after he was done coughing, and luckily it didn’t trigger another fit. 

Entering his room, Merlin collapsed onto his bed in exhaustion. He felt his nose twitch, and he sneezed twice into his pillow. Gaius sat on the end of the bed and rubbed Merlin’s back gently.

“Here, let me get a cool cloth for your head. It’ll help bring down the fever.” Merlin nodded, face still buried in his pillow, as the weight lifted from the bed. Soon, Gaius returned with a damp cloth and helped Merlin turn onto his back. The physician draped the cloth over his ward’s brow and helped prop the young warlock up. “This should help with your breathing.”

“Thank you for everything…” Merlin said softly, already falling asleep. Gaius smiled affectionately at his now-sleeping form.

“You are entirely welcome, my boy.”


	4. Back to work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it has been brought to my attention that some of these scenarios are highly unlikely. My response?: yeah, I know. It's kinda hard to write all the scenes I have in my head in a way that's actually possible. Sorry for any inaccuracies and/or impossibilities. If it bothers you too much then I'm sorry :/

Merlin stood with uncertainty, using the bed frame to keep his balance. After a night’s (and day’s) rest, he didn’t feel much better, but he also knew that he couldn’t stay in bed while he had work to do. The young warlock walked slowly to the door, coughing deeply as he did so. The cough was productive now, and Merlin grimaced at the sound. The headache had returned, and the coughing had brought that fact to the forefront of Merlin’s mind. He opened the door slowly and was glad that Gaius seemed to still be asleep. The young man walked carefully to the door, using nearby benches and tables to keep his balance. He was almost to the exit when he heard Gaius shift in his bed.

“Merlin?” the physician called sleepily, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Merlin said quietly, cringing when he heard the sound of his voice.

“Oh really?” Gaius said, sitting up fully now. “It looks like you’re trying to go back to work.”

“...No?” Gaius sighed and stood, striding over to his ward. He placed a hand on the back of Merlin’s neck, frowning slightly.

“Well, your fever has gone down some, but I’m still worried about your cough. Sit down, and I can check your lungs again,”

“Gaius, I’m alright.” The physician wasn’t convinced, and with a firm hand on the warlock’s arm, he led him to the table.

Bending down, Gaius could hear the wheezing in Merlin’s lungs before his head even touched the young man’s chest. His concern only grew when taking a deep breath forced a cough from his ward, and the physician could hear how strained and painful these coughs were.

“No, Merlin, you’re not. Your cough has gotten much worse, and you’re obviously in a lot of pain.”

“That potion from yesterday helped with my headache. Do you have more?” Gaius nodded and grabbed a bottle he had prepared the day before while Merlin rested, knowing that the young warlock would probably need it again the next day. He handed the bottle to his ward and Merlin took it.

“Let me give you some medicine to help with your cough.”

“Gaius, really. I’m fine. The cough isn’t that bad.” But his lungs had other plans, and as if to prove himself wrong, he began coughing again. The physician winced in sympathy when he heard the productive coughs coming from the young man.

“You were saying?” Merlin hung his head in defeat and sniffed sadly, wishing that Gaius would just leave him alone so that he could go back to work. “Here, I’ll get you that potion. Stay here.” The older man set about searching for the remedy he had in mind, and Merlin leaned back into the table, thoroughly exhausted from the effort of keeping his fever at bay long enough for Gaius to check it. The spell was a small one, used to lower a person’s body temperature for short periods of time. The young sorcerer knew it wasn’t supposed to be used in the way he was using it, but he was too spent to care. Soon enough, Gaius returned to his ward’s side, and with a quick flash of gold, he lowered his temperature once more.

“Thank you, Gaius. You didn’t have to -”

“Yes I did. And save your voice.” Merlin nodded, smiling a bit. It was true; his voice was shot to hell. He coughed into his fist a few times, glad that Gaius’s remedies had dulled the pain in his head and throat.

“I’m still worried about the sound of that cough, but if you  _ swear _ that you’re well enough to go to work, then you should do so.” Merlin grinned and went to stand, but the physician stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “However, Arthur stopped in after the meeting yesterday to see why you hadn’t returned, and I told him you were sick. He’ll be keeping an eye on you.” The warlock rolled his eyes, frustrated but not quite sure why.

“Alright.” This time, he did stand, and the rush of dizziness was not lost on the older man.

“Try not to stand so quickly.” Merlin scoffed at his mentor and slowly removed his hand from the table.

“Can I go now?”

“Yes, yes, but don’t overwork yourself! If you pass out because you’re not giving yourself enough time to heal, you’ll have  _ me _ to answer to.” Merlin smiled and Gaius gave him a quick hug. “Now, you should get going. You don’t want to be late!” Merlin nodded and left the room, but not before bidding Gaius a good day.

“Rise and shine!” rasped Merlin, voice hoarse and strained. Arthur groaned and sat up, taking in the sight of his servant. Merlin was leaning against the wall, visibly shaking, and obviously trying to suppress his coughs.

“Merlin, what are you  _ doing _ ?”

“I’m getting you up, sire.” Merlin said with a smirk, but the effect was lost on his master when he let himself cough harshly into his sleeve. Arthur stood and approached the ill man, careful not to make it seem as though he was concerned.

“I thought Gaius said you were ill.”

“It’s not that bad.” coughed Merlin.

“Right, seems like it. Well, if it’s ‘not that bad’, then you won’t mind helping out with training?” Merlin shuddered at the prospect of being out in the cold (it may have been from the fever though; he wasn’t quite sure), but shrugged as though he didn’t care.

“Sounds great.”

Arthur glanced quickly at Merlin. The young man had stopped walking for the third time on the way down to the training field to rest, and the hallway was filled with the sound of his coughing. 

“Merlin, not that I care, but you sound completely  _ awful _ . Are you sure Gaius is alright with you being here?” Merlin scoffed a bit, and Arthur frowned at the wheezing sound that came with it.

“I’m fine Arthur. I’ve got a cold, but that’s all.”

“Well, if you’re sure, then come on. We’re going to be late.”

The duo continued walking, Merlin using the aid of the walls to keep upright. His vision swam, and he could feel his fever pulse underneath the spell he had cast. Against his better judgement, the young warlock had held the spell, determined to make it through the day. He knew that as soon as he ended the enchantment, his fever would climb higher than it had done before, but he wanted to wait until he was at home before letting that happen.

Before Merlin knew it, they had arrived at the training area. The assault of cold air triggered yet another coughing fit, and this time it was one of the knights who was helping him stay upright.

“You alright there Merlin?” asked Gwaine, knowing the answer and also knowing that his friend would lie about it.

“Yeah, I’m alright. The cold air was a shock is all.”

“Lancelot told me you weren’t feeling well. Tell me, Merlin, do you always come to work when you’re running a fever?” Merlin was startled by Gwaine’s last statement, and then he realized that the spell he had been holding was starting to fly apart. Quickly, and silently, the warlock attempted to pull the magic back together inside him, trying to keep his fever at bay.

“I don’t have a fever. It’s just that you’re cold, and I’m not.” Gwaine scoffed and let go of his friend carefully.

“Alright, well, can you try not to fall over while we’re training? Arthur probably wouldn’t appreciate an interruption.” Merlin huffed out a laugh, but his laughter quickly turned to more coughs. Gwaine patted the ailling man’s back roughly, making Merlin cough harder.

“Did Gaius give you anything for that cough?” Another’s voice made the two men’s heads turn quickly to see Lancelot standing near them. Merlin nodded, wanting to save his throat the misfortune of being used.

“Really? It doesn’t sound much better. In fact, it sounds worse.”

“It sounds better than from before Gaius gave me the potion.” Lancelot cringed at the sound of Merlin’s voice. He looked as though he was about to say something, but he was interrupted by the voice of their king.

“Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to get started?” The three men began walking to where the rest of the knights were, and Lancelot kept a friendly hand on Merlin’s arm, just in case the sick man lost his balance once more.

“Alright, today we will be practicing…” Merlin’s focus waned, and he tuned out the king in order to concentrate on keeping his facade intact.

“Sounds good Merlin?” The young warlock snapped back into focus when he heard his name.

“What?”

“I  _ said _ , we’ll start by practicing our aim. Grab the target, will you?” Merlin stared dubiously at his master.

“You’ve  _ got _ to be joking, sire!” Arthur’s gaze didn’t falter.

“You said that you were alright. So, go get the target.” Merlin sighed and trudged over to where the target was laying. To be fair, he  _ had _ said that he was fine, so he probably deserved this. He barely made it to the target when he felt his vision flicker.  _ Odd _ . He made a few more steps when it happened again. This time, it was coupled with a visible tremor that wracked his entire body. It took a moment before Merlin could place what was going on; his enchantment was failing. It must have been more powerful that he thought, because as it failed he could feel the fever tear into his body mercilessly. He turned to where the knights were waiting, his vision blurring shifting as though the young warlock was moving at a very high speed.

“Hurry  _ up _ , Merlin. We haven’t got all day.” The king yelled, with no real malice in his words. He saw his manservant turn around, and was taken aback by just how  _ pale  _ he had become.

“I think… I think I’m going to pass out, sire.” The knights ran towards their friend just in time to see his legs give out from under him. It was Percival who got there first, and he caught the ill man just before he hit the ground.

“We have to get him to Gaius,” Arthur said authoritatively, “He’s burning up.” A quick touch of the forehead confirmed that, and with great strength, Percival heaved Merlin up over his shoulder.

“Will he be alright?” asked Elyan.

“I don’t know.” Lancelot was the one to respond.

“Lancelot, go with Percival. Figure out what the hell Gaius was thinking, sending him to work in this condition.” After the king was done speaking, Gwaine stepped forward.

“I’m going with.”

“Very well. Elyan, Leon, training’s over. You’re dismissed.”

It was no surprise when both men caught up with their fellow knights to accompany the journey to Gaius’s chambers. Arthur, instead of following suit, sat on the steps leading up the entrance. His mind was filled with worry about his friend, but he knew that Merlin would probably want some space from him at the moment.  _ Why didn’t I send him back home? He was ill _ . Arthur felt guilty for not doing more to help his servant, and assumed that Merlin would be angry with him when he woke. So he sat there, unaware that in that moment, the very man he was thinking of was muttering his name in a fevered frenzy. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm already working on the next chapter, so you won't have to wait long (this time). Please leave kudos and a comment if you liked! (btw I live off of comments so pls)


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